Magic score final 11 points, knock off Pacers in Game 1

INDIANAPOLIS — The way experts talked about the first-round playoff series between the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers, you would've thought the Magic had no chance without Dwight Howard.

The Magic silenced that talk Saturday night.

Trailing by seven points late in regulation, they scored 11 unanswered points and pulled out a stunning 81-77 upset in Game 1 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

"We all we got," said Jason Richardson, repeating the phrase the team adopted as its motto.

"Nobody believed in us. Nobody. All the ESPN analysts, all the sportswriters. In the eyes of the basketball world, nobody thought we have a chance in this series, of course, without Dwight."

It sure looked bleak in the fourth quarter. Orlando went almost five consecutive minutes without scoring a point, and after the teams traded baskets, Indiana took a 77-70 lead with 4:05 to go.

Who knew then the Pacers wouldn't score again?

Jameer Nelson ignited the 11-0 run when he made a difficult fadeaway jumper. Then, with Glen Davis and Ryan Anderson both setting screens, Richardson followed with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 77-75.

After Danny Granger missed a pair of foul shots, Richardson ran around a screen by Anderson to sink another trey that put Orlando ahead 78-77 with 1:04 to go.

The Magic never trailed again.

Quentin Richardson brought his teammates together during a break and repeated the mantra: "We all we got! We all we got! We all we got!"

"We've been through so much this year as a group and we fought through so much negativity," Anderson said afterward. "Ultimately, we've had to have each others' backs, and this group right here really has. It's fun playing knowing guys on the bench are really cheering you on."

The Pacers have themselves to blame. Down 78-77, Granger missed a 2-footer off the glass. In all, the Pacers missed their final nine shot attempts, went just 13 for 22 from the line and shot just 34.5 percent overall from the field.

Game 2 is scheduled for Monday night.

"In my opinion," Indiana's David West said, "this next game is a must-win."

Earl Clark, playing on a sore left knee, blocked four shots and grabbed nine rebounds in just under 20 minutes. Hedo Turkoglu started at small forward three weeks after he underwent surgery to repair a broken cheekbone and scored seven of Orlando's first nine points.

"With the group of guys we have right now, we've been playing a lot harder and trying to eliminate as many mistakes as we can," Nelson said. "One thing is, we don't have our best player, which is very unfortunate. When Dwight's out there, we make a lot of mistakes and he erases them."

The Magic didn't need Howard.

"I think everybody pulled together, and we really fought hard," Quentin Richardson said. "We were down, and J-Rich made two unbelievable shots. The whole night, we had to fight."